Session: From Vision to Reality: Building and Scaling AI in Regulated Healthcare
This conference session brings together diverse and complementary perspectives to explore the realities of building and scaling artificial intelligence in healthcare. Designed as a multi-stakeholder dialogue, the panel will bridge innovation, regulation, and investment, offering a grounded view of what it takes for AI solutions to achieve real-world impact in a highly regulated environment.
The discussion will feature representatives from the pharmaceutical industry, who will address compliance expectations, validation standards, and the criteria required for AI solutions to become credible partners at an enterprise and global level. A venture capital perspective will add depth to the conversation by examining how investors assess risk, timelines, and scalability in healthcare AI, and why medtech ventures often require distinct funding models compared to traditional technology startups. In parallel, voices from the public sector will provide insight into regulatory frameworks, public funding mechanisms, and the role of policy in either enabling or slowing innovation in healthcare systems.
By bringing these perspectives together, the session aims to foster an honest and practical conversation about how AI in healthcare can move beyond ambition and deliver sustainable, measurable impact.
Within this panel, the discussion will also include the perspective of a founder building and scaling AI solutions in regulated healthcare environments. The intervention will focus on the critical intersection between technology, funding, and real-world deployment—where many medtech initiatives ultimately succeed or fail.
Drawing on first-hand experience from the development and scaling of ApolloMed, an AI-driven medical platform used daily by thousands of doctors and pharmacists, the session will explore key topics such as designing AI solutions that integrate into real clinical workflows rather than idealized scenarios, navigating long and complex healthcare sales cycles, and building viable ventures through hybrid funding strategies that combine private investment, European innovation funding, and strategic partnerships. It will also address what compliance truly entails when collaborating with global pharmaceutical companies such as Novo Nordisk and Boehringer Ingelheim.
Finally, the session will touch on the leadership dimension of building in this space from the perspective of a woman founder—focusing on earning trust, sustaining momentum within slow-moving systems, and making long-term decisions in an industry where impact ultimately matters more than speed.
Bio
Mihaela Onofrei
CEO Apollo AI Technologies
Mihaela Onofrei is the CO-Founder and CEO of Apollo AI Technologies, where she builds AI-powered tools for healthcare professionals. She leads the development of ApolloMed, an AI medical platform used daily by over 5,000 doctors and pharmacists. With an academic background in Natural Language Processing and artificial intelligence, Mihaela bridges research, regulated healthcare, and real-world deployment, working closely with global pharmaceutical companies such as Novo Nordisk and Boehringer Ingelheim. Her work focuses on building compliant, scalable AI solutions that deliver lasting clinical impact.
Dali Tannouri
Corporate Affairs Director, AstraZeneca Gulf
Dali brings over 18 years of experience in the pharmaceutical industry, having built her career at AstraZeneca through progressive leadership roles across the Gulf, GCC, MEA, and global teams.
She brings extensive expertise in public policy, government affairs, stakeholder engagement, sustainability, and strategic communications across the GCC region. Her work has supported healthcare reform and improved patient access across diverse healthcare systems, while also contributing to broader regional and global conversations on innovation, health equity, and sustainable healthcare delivery.
Throughout her career, she has built cross-sector alliances, led impactful advocacy initiatives, and strengthened corporate reputation through strategic engagement with ministries, regulators, and international platforms.
Dali holds a Master’s degree in Biochemistry and is fluent in Arabic, English, and French.
Eugenia Dunaeva
CEO Ultralite, Partner at DVC, Board Advisor
Eugenia is an investor, board-level advisor, and former operator with experience leading partnerships and B2B organizations at a global level.
Today, she is the founder of Ultralite Consulting, where she supports high-growth startups and scaleups on go-to-market strategy, commercial growth, and open innovation.
As an active investor, Eugenia is an LP in four VC funds across the U.S. and Europe, with exposure to over 150 portfolio companies, including multiple unicorns.
She has been recognized as 30 Under 35 in Global Travel by Phocuswright (2021) and named among 30 Female VCs and Angels in Climate and Sustainability by ClimateHack (2023).
She is also an active mentor supporting women in tech and entrepreneurship.
Gediminas Pazera
AI Engineer at Develop Health
Gediminas Pažėra is an AI Engineer at Develop Health, where he builds generative AI systems that automate medication access for over 400,000 Americans monthly. Prior to Develop Health, he was Co-Founder and CTO of Radical Healthcare, a healthcare AI startup, and Founding Machine Learning Engineer at Lighten AI. He holds a DPhil in Chemical Physics from the University of Oxford before transitioning into healthcare AI. He is based in San Francisco.